NICK Crittenden admitted it was a “tough decision” to step down as assistant-manager at Dorchester Town but admitted “it was the right time” to say goodbye to the club.

The former Chelsea, Yeovil Town and Weymouth winger, who arrived at the Avenue in 2008, decided to join player-manager Mark Jermyn in resigning after Boxing Day’s Ridgeway derby against the Terras.

The 38-year-old revealed he is set to take a short break from the game to spend time with his family after his final fixture at Dorchester, but wished the club well for the future.

“I always said that if Jem (Jermyn) went, I didn’t want to hang around,” Crittenden told Echosport.

“Jem decided to leave and I think it was the right time for myself as well with my off-the-field commitments.

“I have my three boys with my wife and we struggle for babysitters. We don’t get much time together as a family, so it will be nice to spend more time with them.”

Commenting on his time with the Magpies, he added: “I have been there around nine years and I have enjoyed every minute, and it’s with regret that I have to leave.

“It was a tough decision but we had to step aside.

“Hopefully the club can keep the players together that they have. I think they have enough there to comfortably stay up.

“The boys are doing well at the moment and I don’t think there are any players they can afford to lose.”

He added: “It’s going to be a sad day on Boxing Day but people come and go at football clubs. For me, I have learnt a lot from working with Jem, he is going to be sorely missed at the club.

“When Jem took over we were staring two straight relegations in the face. He steadied things and I think he did a fantastic job.

“We had built foundations at the end of last season that I thought we could keep building on but, with the way that money went at the football club, we weren’t able to bring in as many players that we would have liked to strengthen that team.

“But what the boys have done this season, certainly in the last few months, has been a credit to them all.

“We wish them all the best and hopefully we can come down and see them in the future as a successful Dorchester team.”